Grateful Dead: Anthem of the Sun [RHINO]

Why you'll love it

This 50th anniversary Rhino LP presents the 1971 remix, supervised by Phil Lesh with new segues and stereo imaging, remastered in 2018 on 180g vinyl.

This edition

• 50th anniversary edition
• 1971 remix
• 2018 remaster
• 180g vinyl

About the album

Most bands make a second album in a studio. The Grateful Dead made theirs partly on stage: frustrated that studio takes missed the energy of their shows, they spliced recordings from several concerts into the studio sessions, layering one performance over another until the songs blurred into a single, shifting trip.

It was the first Dead album with second drummer Mickey Hart and keyboardist Tom Constanten on board, and you can hear the band growing into the expansive, improvising unit it became. The side-one suite, That's It for the Other One, flows into Phil Lesh's "New Potato Caboose" and lands on Bob Weir's "Born Cross-Eyed." Side two is the bluesy, Pigpen-led "Alligator," which tumbles into the feedback-drenched freakout of "Caution."

It became a touchstone for anyone who likes their rock long, loose and adventurous. Stitching several concerts into one LP was, by the Dead's standards, a quick edit.

Also at Kops: more Grateful Dead on vinyl · browse Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Warner / Rhino (cat# RR1 1749), a reissue of the 1968 album.